Chapter 448
When she glanced back at him, he looked utterly fragile, his eyes practically begging for a shred of pity.
Camilla quickly shoved down the brief flicker of discomfort in her chest. The man was Calvin’s own son, yet he didn’t even seem genuinely devastated. Instead, he was weaponizing the death to manipulate her into feeling sorry for him. The entire family was callous and completely devoid of morals.
“What goes around comes around,” she said, her voice dripping with ice. “You’ve spent your life doing unforgivable things. Did you really think you’d get a happy ending p>
He offered another self-deprecating smile. “Are you really that brutal? Not even a single word of comfort p>
“Did you ever comfort your victims?” she shot back. “I don’t know exactly what Calvin was involved in, but if he ran off to Valdoria and instantly linked up with those criminals, he was dirty. I don’t make a habit of comforting executioners. I don’t care if you’re sad or if you’re trying to play some sick mind game. Get out of my sight p>
“You’ve changed,” he murmured. “I always thought you were kind p>
She scoffed at the sheer hypocrisy. “My kindness is selective. I don’t waste it on psychos p>
“So nothing I do matters, does it? In your eyes, I’ll always be the villain p>
She hated him. She had hated him long before she knew the truth about her father, so this new revelation didn’t exactly change the dynamic between them. She had never planned on forgiving him anyway. Their relationship was already shattered beyond repair.
And since that was the case p>
Barnard seemed to realize that playing the patient, waiting game wasn’t going to work. He slowly rolled his chair closer. “I honestly thought that if I just gave you enough time, you’d eventually come around. But it looks like that’s never going to happen, so I guess there’s no point in dragging this out. I’m in a terrible mood today. Come here and give me a hug p>
He framed it as a request, but his hand lashed out, wrapping around her wrist in an iron grip. He yanked hard, trying to pull her against his chest.
She thrashed violently, fighting to break his hold. “Don’t act like a lunatic!” she snapped, her tone dropping dangerously low. “Don’t make me hate you more than I already do p>
“You already despise me,” he replied smoothly, unbothered by her struggling. His thumb casually stroked her wrist bone. His touch was freezing, feeling like a venomous snake coiling around her skin. “Since you refuse to forgive me, I don’t need to care about what you want p>
She tried to pry his fingers apart with her free hand, but despite his condition, his upper body strength hadn’t diminished at all. Unable to break free, she raised her leg to kick his wheelchair away. He instantly let go of her wrist, caught her ankle, and ruthlessly dragged her down into his lap.
His arms locked around her waist like a steel vise, pinning her in place so she couldn’t move an inch.
“Let me go!” she shouted.
“Stop moving. I’m not going to hurt you. Just let me hold you for a second. Just one second.” He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice trembling slightly.
It was almost a miracle, but breathing in her familiar scent instantly settled the chaos in his chest. For a fleeting second, it felt like they were back to the days when they were happily married, when she would sense his frustration and immediately comfort him. Even though he had forced this embrace, he still felt an undeniable sense of peace. She had solved so many of his problems in the past that he had grown addicted to the safety she provided.
“What did you mean earlier?” she demanded, her body completely rigid as she tried to lean as far away from him as possible. “Do you know what happened to my dad p>
“Nothing. It was just a question,” he muttered.
She wasn’t stupid enough to buy that. “You know the inside story. Calvin was involved, wasn’t he? If he came all the way to Valdoria just to seek refuge with Zachary, they had to have a history. Which means Zachary is probably one of the bastards responsible too p>
“Enough, Camilla. This isn’t a thriller. Stop jumping to conclusions. I told you, I was just testing the waters to see how deep your grudge really went p>
He tried to brush it off, but his blatant deflection only fueled her suspicions.